Method of operating spectrum sharing system interoperating with distributed antenna system

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a method of allocating shared radio resources in a spectrum shared system (SSS), the method including: obtaining, by a system controller of the SSS, identification information from at least one radio service device of the SSS and a node unit of a distributed antenna system (DAS); determining, by the system controller of the SSS, whether the at least one radio service device interoperates with the DAS based on the identification information; and allocating, by the system controller of the SSS, the shared radio resources to the at least one radio service device and the DAS, respectively, based on a result of the determining of interoperating.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0160328, filed on Dec. 12, 2018, and Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2019-0024415, filed on Feb. 28, 2019, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

One or more embodiments relate to a spectrum sharing system. Moreparticularly, the disclosure relates to a method of operating a spectrumsharing system comprising a distributed antenna system.

2. Description of the Related Art

In order to cope with the increasing demand of mobile traffic and thelimitation of frequency spectrum (or spectrum) retrieval and relocation,the introduction of radio station management and a service system basedon spectrum sharing is being actively discussed in order to efficientlyutilize limited radio resources (e.g., a bandwidth and transmissionpower) mainly in major advanced countries.

For example, the United States has announced the introduction ofCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), which is an urban spectrumsharing service in the 3.5 GHz band, and the United Kingdom hasannounced the introduction of spectrum co-use for the 3.8 GHz to 4.2 GHzbands based on the Framework for Spectrum Sharing.

Such a spectrum sharing service is expected not only to be applied inthe existing specific service field but also to provide a sufficientadvantage for substituting and converging various services as well assupplementing a mobile communication service such as 5G.

Meanwhile, a distributed antenna system (DAS) is a system composed ofspatially separated antenna nodes (e.g., remote units) connected to acommon node (e.g., a head-end unit) through a transmission medium suchas optical fiber, wired Ethernet, and the like, or a transmissionnetwork.

The DAS is installed in an area where radio signals are not received orwhere radio signals are weak, such as inside buildings, undergroundbuildings, subways, tunnels, apartment complexes in a residential area,stadiums, and the like to extend coverage of a base station by providingcommunication services to even a shadow area where signals of the basestation are difficult to reach.

The DAS is closely related to a neutral host radio access network modelproposed by the CBRS Alliance, and is likely to operate with thespectrum sharing system or to be applied as a part of the spectrumsharing system.

However, a concrete method of controlling DAS and the spectrum sharingsystemhas not been proposed yet.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments include a method of operating a spectrum sharingsystem interoperating with a distributed antenna system.

The disclosure is not limited to the above objectives, but otherobjectives not described herein may be clearly understood by those ofordinary skilled in the art from descriptions below.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method ofallocating shared radio resources in a spectrum shared system (SSS), themethod includes: obtaining, by a system controller of the SSS,identification information from at least one radio service device of theSSS and a node unit of a distributed antenna system (DAS); determining,by the system controller of the SSS, whether the at least one radioservice device interoperates with the DAS based on the identificationinformation; and allocating, by the system controller of the SSS, theshared radio resources to the at least one radio service device and theDAS, respectively, based on a result of the determining ofinteroperating.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the identification information mayinclude an identifier indicating whether the at least one radio servicedevice interoperates with the DAS.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the determining of interoperatingmay include determining whether the at least one radio service deviceinteroperates with the DAS according to whether respective identifiersof the at least one radio service device and the node unit match orcorrespond to each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the identification informationwith respect to each of the at least one radio service device and thenode unit may include at least two of an indication of radio accesstechnology (RAT), operation parameters associated with the RAT, and ageographic location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the determining of interoperatingmay include determining, by the system controller of the SSS, whetherthe at least one radio service device interoperates with the DASaccording to whether at least some of the indication of the RAT, theoperation parameters associated with the RAT, and the geographiclocation match or correspond to each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of theidentification information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the identification information as a portion of aregistration process of the at least one radio service device and thenode unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of theidentification information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the identification information through at leastone of a resource request from the at least one radio service device andthe node unit or a periodic status update of the at least one radioservice device and the node unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the allocating of the shared radioresources may include allocating, by the system controller of the SSS,the shared radio resources such that the shared radio resourcesallocated to the DAS comprise the shared radio resources allocated tothe at least one radio service device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the node unit may be a head-endunit communicatively connected to the at least one radio service device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the node unit may be a remote unitcommunicatively connected to the at least one radio service device.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided amethod of allocating shared radio resources in a spectrum shared system(SSS), the method includes: obtaining, by a system controller of theSSS, interoperating information from any one of at least one radioservice device of the SSS and a node unit of a distributed antennasystem (DAS); and allocating, by the system controller of the SSS, theshared radio resources to the at least one radio service device and theDAS, respectively, based on the interoperating information.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of theinteroperating information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the interoperating information from the at leastone radio service device, and the interoperating information may includeinformation about at least two of an interoperating state of the atleast one radio service device and the DAS, an indication of radioaccess technology (RAT) provided by the at least one radio servicedevice through the DAS, operation parameters associated with the RAT,and a geographic location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the allocating of the shared radioresources may include allocating, by the system controller of the SSS,the shared radio resources to the at least one radio service device andthe DAS, respectively, based on the interoperating information, and themethod may further include controlling, by the at least one radioservice device, use of the shared radio resources of the DAS bytransmitting a result of the allocating to the DAS to the node unit,after the allocating of the shared radio resources.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of theinteroperating information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the interoperating information from the nodeunit, wherein the interoperating information may include informationabout at least two of an interoperating state of the at least one radioservice device and the DAS, an indication of an RAT of the at least oneradio service device supported by the node unit, operation parametersassociated with the RAT, and a geographic location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the allocating of the shared radioresources may include allocating, by the system controller of the SSS,the shared radio resources to the at least one radio service device andthe DAS, respectively, based on the interoperating information, and themethod may further include controlling, by the node unit, use of theshared radio resources of the at least one radio service device bytransmitting a result of the allocating to the at least one radioservice device to the at least one radio service device, after theallocating of the shared radio resources.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided amethod of allocating shared radio resources in a spectrum shared system(SSS), the method includes obtaining, by a system controller of the SSS,virtualized radio service device information from any one of at leastone radio service device of the SSS and a node unit of a distributedantenna system (DAS); and allocating, by the system controller of theSSS, the shared radio resources to the at least one radio service deviceand the DAS, integrally, based on the virtualized radio service deviceinformation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the virtualized radio servicedevice information may include information about at least two of anindication of radio access technology (RAT) that is integrally supportedby the at least one radio service device and the DAS, operationparameters associated with the RAT, and a geographic location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of the virtualizedradio service device information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the virtualized radio service device informationfrom the at least one radio service device, and the method may furtherinclude: determining, by the at least one radio service device, anoperation of each of the at least one radio service device and the DASbased on a result of the allocating, after the allocating of the sharedradio resources; and controlling, by the at least one radio servicedevice, use of the shared radio resources of each of the at least oneradio service device and the DAS according to the determined operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the obtaining of the virtualizedradio service device information may include obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the virtualized radio service device informationfrom the node unit, and the method may further include: determining, bythe node unit, an operation of each of the at least one radio servicedevice and the DAS based on a result of the allocating after theallocating of the shared radio resources; and controlling, by the nodeunit, use of the shared radio resources of each of the at least oneradio service device and the DAS according to the determined operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A to 2E are block diagrams of elements of a spectrum sharingsystem according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for illustrating a method of operating thespectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary flowchart for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary flowchart for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is an exemplary flowchart for illustrating a method of operatingthe spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example of a spectrum sharing system of the present disclosure is anew type of system in which two or more wireless communication systemsprovide authorized shared access in conjunction with an in-buildingwireless communication system (e.g., a distributed antenna system). Sucha spectrum sharing system may be developed from a general CBRS systemthat provides or participates in authorized shared access between two ormore wireless communication networks or two or more wirelesscommunication systems (e.g., CBSDs or CBSD domain proxies).

As the spectrum sharing system of the present disclosure operates withthe in-building wireless communication system, it is required to protectradio resources from each other based on constraints due to radio accesstechnologies (RATs) being used by the in-building wireless communicationsystem as well as RATs being used by general competing users or wirelesscommunication systems. In addition, it is further required to protectradio resources from each other based on constraints due to a pluralityof operating modes for the RATs.

In a case of the distributed antenna system implemented with neutralhost architecture, various radio services are integrated and providedwithin service coverage. This is because various problems such asinterference may be caused when the radio resources are shared withoutconsidering interoperating of the distributed antenna system in thespectrum sharing system.

In order to meet these requirements and to allow for optimization ofradio resource allocations, various aspects of the present disclosuresuggest technologies that allow spectrum sharing system controllers toidentify whether CBSDs, CBSD domain proxies, and a DAS interoperate witheach other using certain information provided from at least one of theCBSDs, the CBSD domain proxies, and the DAS interoperating with theCBSDs and the CBSD domain proxies, and to optimize the allocation ofradio resources to the CBSDs, the CBSD domain proxies, and the DAS basedon a result of the identification of interoperating.

In various embodiments, the technologies described in the presentdisclosure and systems and devices for implementation thereof mayutilize RATs such as WiFi or WiMax as well as RATs such as code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrierFDMA (SC-FDMA), LTE, a global system for mobile communications (GSM), 5GNR, and the like to support shared access to the radio spectrum betweennetworks (or systems).

Various other embodiments and features according to the inventiveconcept of the present disclosure will be further described later below.It should be apparent that the teachings herein may be implemented in awide variety of forms and any particular structure, function, or both,disclosed herein are merely exemplary and not limiting. Based on theteachings herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat aspects disclosed herein may be implemented independently of anyother aspects and two or more of these aspects may be combined invarious ways. For example, a device or a method may be implemented byusing any number of aspects set forth herein. Furthermore, the device orthe method may be implemented with structures and functions of one ormore of the aspects described herein, or may be implemented by usingstructures and functions of other aspects. For example, the method maybe implemented as a part of instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium for execution on a system, a device,an apparatus and/or a processor, or a computer. Furthermore, one aspectmay include at least one component of the claim.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail in order.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system 10 according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure.

The spectrum sharing system 10 may include system controllers 110 a and110 b, radio service devices 120 a to 120 j, and first to thirddistributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3.

The spectrum sharing system 10 may allow shared radio resources to bedynamically allocated to multiple users and radio service providersassociated with the radio service devices 120 a to 120 j and the firstto third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3 by control of thesystem controllers 110 a and 110 b. In an exemplary embodiment, theshared radio resources may be operating frequencies, power limits, ageographical area, or the like. In addition, the spectrum sharing system10 may provide some degree of protection to existing users (e.g., fixedsatellite systems, WISPs, and government/military systems) withpotentially higher priorities and other users/radio service providerswhile allowing the shared radio resources to be dynamically allocated.

The system controllers 110 a and 110 b may control overall spectrumsharing in a system by accepting requests for use of the shared radioresources from the radio service devices 120 a to 120 j and/or the firstto third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3, by solvingconflicts or over-constraints in these requests, and by approving theuse of the shared radio resources for the radio access services.

For example, the system controllers 110 a and 110 b may determinewhether some of the radio service devices 120 a to 120 j and some of thefirst to third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3 interoperatewith each other, based on identification information, interoperatinginformation, etc. obtained from the radio service devices 120 a to 120 jand the first to third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3,during a registration process, a resource request process, or a periodicstatus update process from among operations for allocating andreallocating the shared radio resources, and may allocate the sharedradio resources in consideration of a result of the determination ofinteroperating. This will be described in more detail later below withreference to FIGS. 3 to 10.

Meanwhile, the term “interoperating” means that at least one of theradio service devices 120 a to 120 j is used as a signal source of atleast one of the first to third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 toDAS #3.

The term “determine” includes a wide variety of actions. For example,the term “determine” may include computing, processing, deriving,examining, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or otherdata structure), identifying, and the like. The term “determine” mayalso include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing(accessing data in a memory), and the like. The term “determine” mayalso include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

The radio service devices 120 a to 120 j may be devices that provideradio services using any radio access technology, such as a basestation, an access point, or any type of radio frequency (RF) accesssystem.

Some of the radio service devices 120 a to 120 j may provide radioservices to an end-user device in a cell by using a spectrum allocatedby direct control of the system controllers 110 a and 110 b.

Alternatively, the others of the radio service devices 120 a to 120 jmay provide radio services to end-user devices through a correspondingdistributed antenna system of the first to third distributed antennasystems DAS #1 to DAS #3 by using a spectrum allocated by direct controlor indirect control (e.g., control through a distributed antenna system)of the system controllers 110 a and 110 b.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the radio service devices 120 cand 120 h of the radio service devices 120 a to 120 j may function as adomain proxy for sub-radio service devices.

The system controller 110 a and the radio service devices 120 a to 120 emay constitute the first sub system Sub #1 and the system controller 110b and the radio service devices 120 f to 120 j may constitute a secondsub system Sub #2. Here, the division of the first and second subsystems Sub #1 and Sub #2 is only for the convenience of description ofradio service devices managed by a corresponding system controller foreach geographical area, and the system controllers 110 a and 110 binteroperate with each other to control allocation of shared radioresources throughout the spectrum sharing system 10 and the like.

Each of the first to third distributed antenna systems DAS #1 to DAS #3may aggregate/distribute radio services provided from corresponding atleast one radio service device of the radio service devices 120 a to 120j by direct or indirect control (control through a radio service device)of the system controllers 110 a and 110 b and provide thecombined/distributed radio services to end-user devices in coverage.

According to an embodiment, the first distributed antenna system DAS #1may include a head-end unit 130 a connected to the radio service devices120 a, 120 b, and 120 c of the first sub system Sub #1, remote units 140a and 140 c connected to the head-end unit 130 a in apoint-to-multipoint structure, and remote units 140 b and 140 drespectively connected to the corresponding remote units 140 a and 140 cin a daisy-chain structure. As shown in FIG. 1, the first distributedantenna system DAS #1 may further optionally include an expansion unit150, and remote units 140 e to 140 h may be connected to the expansionunit 150 in a mixed form of the point-to-multipoint structure and thedaisy-chain structure.

The first distributed antenna system DAS #1 may provide radio servicesfrom the radio service devices 120 a, 120 b, and 120 c to the end-userdevices by using a radio resource allocated according to direct orindirect control (e.g., control through a radio service device) of thesystem controller 110 a.

In an exemplary embodiment, the head-end unit 130 a may be furtherconnected to the radio service devices 120 f and 120 g connected to thesystem controller 110 b in the second sub system Sub #2. In this case,the first distributed antenna system DAS #1 may use shared radioresource by interoperating control of the system controllers 110 a and110 b.

According to an embodiment, the second distributed antenna system DAS #2may include a remote unit 140 m connected to the radio service device120 d of the first sub system Sub #1 and a remote unit 140 n connectedto the remote unit 140 m in a daisy-chain structure. Unlike a remoteradio head, which is an RF processing unit of a distributed basestation, the remote units 140 m and 140 n may integrate a plurality ofradio services. Accordingly, although FIG. 1 shows only the embodimentin which the remote units 140 m and 140 n are connected to one radioservice device 120 d, the remote units 140 m and 140 n may be connectedto a plurality of radio service devices either directly or with acertain network therebetween.

Based on the disclosure above, the second distributed antenna system DAS#2 may provide radio services from the radio service device 120 d to theend-user devices by using the radio resource allocated according todirect or indirect control of the system controller 110 a.

According to an embodiment, the third distributed antenna system DAS #3may include a head-end unit 130 b connected to the radio service devices120 h and 120 i of the second sub system Sub #2, remote units 140 i to140 k connected to the head-end unit 130 b in a point-to-multipointstructure, and a remote unit 1401 connected to the remote unit 140 k ina daisy-chain structure.

The third distributed antenna system DAS #3 may provide radio servicesfrom the radio service devices 120 h and 120 i to the end-user devicesby using a radio resource allocated according to direct or indirectcontrol (e.g., control through a radio service device) of the systemcontroller 110 b.

The head-end unit 130 b may also be connected to some radio servicedevices included in the first sub system Sub #1, similar to the head-endunit 130 a which may be connected to the radio service devices 120 f and120 g included in the second sub system Sub #2.

Elements of the spectrum sharing system 10, i.e., a system controller, aradio service device, and a distributed antenna system, and a topologyfor connecting them are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,and various modifications and variations are possible.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are block diagrams of elements of a spectrum sharingsystem according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Inthe description of FIGS. 2A to 2E, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or corresponding elements,and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be given herein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, a system controller 110 may include asystem controller processing system 111 (hereinafter referred to as anSC processing system) and a system controller interface 117 (hereinafterreferred to as an SC interface).

The SC processing system 111 may control the overall operation of thespectrum sharing system 10. For example, the SC processing system 111may control processing operations for a registration request of at leastone radio service device 120 connected to the system controller 110 andat least one distributed antenna system DAS, processing operations for aradio resource/authorization request, status update processingoperations of the radio service device 120 and the distributed antennasystem DAS, and the like.

In particular, the SC processing system 111, as a part of theabove-described operations or as a separate operation, may determinewhether the radio service device 120 interoperates with the distributedantenna system DAS to reflect an interoperating operation state whenshared radio resources are allocated.

The SC processing system 111 may include at least one database 113 and aprocessor 115.

The at least one database 113 may store rules necessary for managementand operation of the spectrum sharing system 10, various informationrelated to users, for example, information on priorities (e.g., atop-level incumbent user, a priority access authorized user, a generalaccess authorized user), geographical location and/or time information,coverage, an maximum allowable power output level, a modulation type,interference threshold information, and so on.

The processor 115 may determine whether the radio service device 120interoperates with the distributed antenna system DAS based onidentification information, interoperating information, virtualizationinformation, etc. obtained from the radio service device 120 and/or thedistributed antenna system DAS (in more detail, node units of thedistributed antenna system DAS such as a head-end unit 130 and a remoteunit 140). Specific embodiments thereof will be described in more detaillater below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10.

The processor 115 may connect to the database 113 and recognize aspectrum usage state, a usage amount, and the like of users havingpriority at specific times and/or geographical locations related to theradio service device 120 and the distributed antenna system DAS that aredetermined whether to interoperate with each other.

The processor 115 may allocate radio resources available for the radioservice device 120 and the distributed antenna system DAS based on aresult of the recognition.

The processor 115 may transmit allocation information indicating aresult of the allocation of the radio resources to the radio servicedevice 120 and/or the distributed antenna system DAS to control the useof shared radio resources by the radio service device 120 and thedistributed antenna system DAS.

The SC processing system 111 may be communicatively connected to theradio service device 120, the head-end unit 130, and the remote unit 140through the first communication links CL1 a, CL1 b, and CL1 c,respectively, and may transmit and receive information for spectrumsharing access control to/from the radio service device 120, thehead-end unit 130, and the remote unit 140 through the SC interface 117.

The SC processing system 111 may transmit and receive the information toand from the radio service device 120, the head-end unit 130, and theremote unit 140 through the SC interface 117 by using a securityprotocol such as a HyperText Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer(HTTPS) protocol.

Meanwhile, the first communication links CL1 a, Cub, and CL1 c may be,for example, the Internet, but are not limited thereto. The firstcommunication links CL1 a, Cub, and CL1 c may be any wired and/orwireless communication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2B, the radio service device 120 may include aradio service device interface 121 (hereinafter referred to as an RSDinterface), a radio service device controller 123 (hereinafter referredto as an RSD controller), and a radio service device processing system125 (hereinafter referred to as an RSD processing system).

The RSD interface 121 is for the radio service device 120 to transmitand receive pieces of information necessary for spectrum sharing accessto and from the system controller 110, the head-end unit 130, and theremote unit 140.

That is, the radio service device 120 may transmit and receive theinformation to and from the system controller 110 connected through thefirst communication link CL1 a and the remote unit 140 and the head-endunit 130 connected through second communication links CL2 a and CL2 b byusing the RSD interface 121.

Here, the second communication links CL2 a and CL2 b may be, forexample, the Internet, but are not limited thereto. The secondcommunication links CL2 a and CL2 b may be any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The RSD controller 123 may generate its own information related to aradio service or the like provided by the radio service device 120, andidentification information, interoperating information, virtualizationinformation, and the like indicating whether the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperates with the radio service device 120. Further, theRSD controller 123 may transmit the pieces of information to the systemcontroller 110, the head-end unit 130, or the remote unit 140 throughthe RSD interface 121.

The RSD controller 123 may control the RSD processing system 125according to allocation information or the like transmitted from thesystem controller 110 or from the head-end unit 130 and the remote unit140 through the RSD interface 121.

The RSD processing system 125 may activate a radio resource (e.g., afrequency spectrum or channel) allocated by the control of the RSDcontroller 123 and use the activated radio resource to generate servicesignals of the radio access technology that the radio service device 120may support.

The RSD processing system 125 may transmit the generated service signalsto the head-end unit 130 and the remote unit 140 through thirdcommunication links CL3 a and CL3 b.

Here, the third communication links CL3 a and CL3 b may be media fortransmitting analog or digital type service signals, for example, RFcables, optical fibers, Ethernet-based cables, and the like. Meanwhile,although not shown in FIG. 2B, the RSD processing system 125 may includeconverters for converting service signals generated to correspond to thethird communication links CL3 a and CL3 b.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2C, the head-end unit 130 may include ahead-end unit interface 131 (hereinafter referred to as an HEUinterface), a head-end unit controller 133 (hereinafter referred to asan HEU controller), and a head-end unit processing system 135(hereinafter referred to as an HEU processing system).

The HEU interface 131 is for the head-end unit 130 to transmit andreceive pieces of information necessary for spectrum sharing access toand from the system controller 110, the radio service device 120, theremote unit 140, and the expansion unit 150.

The head-end unit 130 may transmit the above-described pieces ofinformation to the system controller 110 and the radio service device120 by using a certain security protocol, for example, the HTTPSprotocol.

The head-end unit 130 may transmit and receive pieces of informationsuch as allocation information to and from the remote unit 140 and theexpansion unit 150 by using the above-described security protocol oranother security protocol defined by a manufacturer of the distributedantenna system DAS.

The head-end unit 130 may transmit and receive the pieces of informationto and from the system controller 110 and the radio service device 120connected to the head-end unit 130 through the first communication linkCL1 b and the second communication link CL2 a, and the expansion unit150 and the remote unit 140 connected to the head-end unit 130 throughfourth communication links CL4 a and CL4 b, respectively, by using theHEU interface 131.

Here, the fourth communication links CL4 a and CL4 b may be, forexample, but are not limited to, the Internet, and may include any wiredand/or wireless communication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber,an Ethernet-based cable, and the like.

The HEU controller 133 may generate identification information,interoperating information, virtualization information, and the likeindicating whether to interoperate with the radio service device 120,and may transmit these information to the system controller 110 or theradio service device 120 through the HEU interface 131.

The HEU controller 133 may control the HEU processing system 135according to the allocation information transmitted from the systemcontroller 110 or from the radio service device 120 through the HEUinterface 131. The transmitted allocation information may be transmittedto the remote unit 140 and the expansion unit 150 through the HEUinterface 131.

The HEU processing system 135 may receive service signals of the radioaccess technology from the radio service device 120 through the thirdcommunication link CL3 a. FIG. 2C shows an embodiment in which one radioservice device 120 is connected to the head-end unit 130. However, whena plurality of radio service devices 120 are connected to the head-endunit 130, the link CL3 a may be plural (see FIG. 3, etc.).

The HEU processing system 135 may perform processes such as noisecancellation, filtering, combining, and the like for received signals inan analog way and/or digitally based on allocated radio resources by thecontrol of the HEU controller 133. The HEU processing system 135 maytransmit the combined service signals to the expansion unit 150 and theremote unit 140 through the fifth communication links CL5 a and CL5 b.

Here, the fifth communication links CL5 a and CL5 b are media fortransmitting analog or digital type service signals, for example, an RFcable, an optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Althoughnot shown in FIG. 2C, the HEU processing system 135 may includeconverters for converting the combined service signals to correspond tothe fifth communication links CL5 a and CL5 b.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2D, the expansion unit 150 may include anexpansion unit interface 151 (hereinafter referred to as an EUinterface), an expansion unit controller 153 (hereinafter referred to asan EU controller), and an expansion unit processing system 155(hereinafter referred to as an EU processing system).

The EU interface 151 is for transmitting and receiving pieces ofinformation necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from thehead-end unit 130 and the remote unit 140.

The expansion unit 150 may transmit and receive the necessary pieces ofinformation to and from the head-end unit 130 and the remote unit 140 byusing a security protocol such as the HTTPS protocol or other securityprotocols defined by the manufacturer of the distributed antenna systemDAS.

The expansion unit 150 may transmit and receive the necessary pieces ofinformation to and from the head-end unit 130 connected through a fourthcommunication link CL4 a and the remote unit 140 connected through asixth communication link CL6 by using the EU interface 151.

Here, the sixth communication link CL6 may be, for example, but is notlimited to, the Internet, and may include any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The EU controller 153 may control the EU processing system 155 accordingto the allocation information of radio resources transmitted from thehead-end unit 130 through the EU interface 151.

The EU processing system 155 may receive the combined service signalsfrom the head-end unit 130 through the fifth communication link CL5 aand perform processes such as amplification and the like on the combinedservice signals in an analog way and/or digitally based on allocatedradio resources by the control of the EU controller 153. Thereafter, theEU processing system 155 may transmit the processed service signals tothe remote unit 140 through a seventh communication link CL7.

Here, the seventh communication link CL7 may be a medium fortransmitting analog or digital type service signals, for example, an RFcable, an optical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Althoughnot shown in FIG. 2D, the EU processing system 155 may include aconverter for converting a signal received through the fifthcommunication link CL5 a into a signal suitable for processing thereinand converters for converting a processed signal to correspond to theseventh communication link CL7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2E, the remote unit 140 may include a remoteunit interface 141 (hereinafter referred to as an RU interface), aremote unit controller 143 (hereinafter referred to as an RUcontroller), and a remote unit processing system 145 (hereinafterreferred to as an RU processing system).

The RU interface 141 is for transmitting and receiving pieces ofinformation necessary for spectrum sharing access to and from the systemcontroller 110, the radio service device 120, the head-end unit 130, theexpansion unit 150, and other remote units.

The remote unit 140, according to an embodiment, may transmit andreceive the pieces of information to and from the system controller 110and the radio service device 120 by using a security protocol such asthe HTTPS protocol and may also transmit and receive the information toand from the head-end unit 130 and the expansion unit 150 by using othersecurity protocols besides the HTTPS protocol.

The remote unit 140 may transmit and receive the pieces of informationto and from the system controller 110, the radio service device 120, thehead-end unit 130, the expansion unit 150, and other remote units thatare connected to the remote unit 140, respectively, through the firstcommunication link CL1 c, the second communication link CL2 b, thefourth communication link CL4 b, the sixth communication link CL6, andan eighth communication link CL8.

Here, the eighth communication link CL8 may be, for example, but is notlimited to, the Internet, and may include any wired and/or wirelesscommunication link such as WiMax, network optical fiber, anEthernet-based cable, and the like.

The RU controller 143 may control the RU processing system 145 accordingto the allocation information of radio resources transmitted from thesystem controller 110, the radio service device 120, the head-end unit130, or the expansion unit 150 through the RU interface 141.

The RU processing system 145 may receive a service signal from the radioservice device 120 through the third communication link CL3 b, combinedservice signals from the head-end unit 130 through the fifthcommunication link CL5 b, or amplified service signals from theexpansion unit 150 through the seventh communication link CL7.

The RU processing system 145 may perform processes such as filtering,amplification, and the like for the received service signals in a analogway and/or digitally based on allocated radio resources by the controlof the RU controller 143, and may transmit the processed service signalsto an end-user device (not shown) or another remote unit through a ninthcommunication link CL9.

Here, the ninth communication link CL9 may be a medium for transmittinganalog or digital type service signals, for example, an RF cable, anoptical fiber, an Ethernet-based cable, and the like. Although not shownin FIG. 2E, the RU processing system 145 may include a converter forconverting the service signals received through the third communicationlink CL3 b, the fifth communication link CL5 b, and the seventhcommunication link CL7 into signals suitable for processing therein anda converter for converting amplified signals to correspond to the ninthcommunication link CL9.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a flowchartfor illustrating a method of operating the spectrum sharing system shownin FIG. 3.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 3 illustratesan embodiment in which the head-end unit 130 of the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperates with the plurality of radio service devices 120a and 120 b. In this embodiment, the system controller 110 and theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the systemcontroller 110 and the head-end unit 130 may be respectively andcommunicatively connected to each other through respective interfaces totransmit and receive information necessary for spectrum sharing access.

In FIG. 3, between the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120b and the head-end unit 130 and between the head-end unit 130, theremote unit 140 (refer to FIG. 1) and the expansion unit 150 (refer toFIG. 1) constituting the distributed antenna system DAS, radio servicesignals provided to/from an end-user device are transmitted as analog ordigital type signals. Processes related to configurations for this willnot be given herein for convenience of explanation. This also applies toFIGS. 5 and 8 below.

In the description of FIGS. 3 and 4, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2C denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for thedistributed antenna system DAS including the system controller 110, theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b, and the head-endunit 130 will be mainly described.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 3, and 4, in operation S401 a, the pluralityof radio service devices 120 a and 120 b generate identificationinformation. In operation S402 a, the head-end unit 130 also generatesidentification information.

The identification information may include at least one of a deviceidentifier, an indication of provided radio access technology (RAT),operating parameters associated with the radio access technology (e.g.,synchronization, a slot structure, a silence interval, etc.), ageographical location (e.g., a concept related to an installationlocation of a device or units or an installation location of an antennaconnected to the device or units, and including a geographical area),and the like of each of the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and120 b and the head-end unit 130.

For example, the operating parameters may include frequency spectruminformation, level/power information, operating state information, andthe like of a service signal conforming to the radio access technology.

The identification information generated by the head-end unit 130 may beregarded as identification information of the distributed antenna systemDAS including the head-end unit 130. Accordingly, hereinafter, theidentification information generated by the head-end unit 130 isreferred to as DAS identification information, and the identificationinformation generated by the plurality of radio service devices 120 aand 120 b is referred to as RSD identification information.

Each of the RSD identification information and the DAS identificationinformation may further include an identifier indicating interoperatingstates of the plurality of the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b andthe head-end unit 130.

In some embodiments, the identifier included in the RSD identificationinformation and the identifier included in the DAS identificationinformation may be defined to be equal to each other. For example, theidentifiers may be defined as a common id jointoperation. Accordingly,the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-endunit 130, which interoperate with each other, respectively generate thesame identifiers, thereby directly indicating the interoperating statesthereof.

In another embodiment, the identifier included in the RSD identificationinformation and the identifier included in the DAS identificationinformation are different from each other but may be defined tocorrespond to each other. For example, the identifiers may be defined asa combination of a common id mother and a target device idinteroperating with a signal source. In this case, the radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b generates an identifier such as id mother=nonebecause there is no target device interoperating with the signal source,and the head-end unit 130 generates an identifier such as id mother=RSD#1 and RSD #2 because the radio service devices 120 a and 120 binteroperate with the signal source.

Accordingly, the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b andthe head-end unit 130, which interoperate with each other, respectivelygenerate corresponding identifiers, thereby indirectly indicating theinteroperating states thereof.

After the identification information are generated in operations S401 aand S401 b, in operation S402 a, the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b transmit the generated RSD identification information tothe system controller 110. In operation S402 b, the head-end unit 130transmits the generated DAS identification information to the systemcontroller 110.

Meanwhile, among the above-described embodiments, in the case in whichthe plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-endunit 130 respectively generate identifiers (e.g., id combination ofequipment interoperating with id mother) that are different from eachother but corresponding to each other, the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b may not transmit an id=mother value to thesystem controller 110 depending on an embodiment. This is because thesystem controller 110 may obtain whether the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b and the distributed antenna system DASinteroperate with each other only by the identifier received from thehead-end unit 130.

In operation S403, the system controller 110 determines whether theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributedantenna system DAS interoperate with each other based on the obtainedRSD identification information and DAS identification information.

In some embodiments, the system controller 110 determines whether theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributedantenna system DAS interoperate with each other based on the identifiersrespectively included in the RSD identification information and the DASidentification information.

Among the above-described embodiments, in the case in which theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit130 respectively generate the same identifiers (e.g., idjointoperation), the system controller 110 determines that the pluralityof radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperate with each other according to whether or not theidentifiers match each other.

Among the above-described embodiments, in the case in which theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit130 respectively generate identifiers (e.g., the id combination ofequipment interoperating with id mother) that are different from eachother but corresponding to each other, the system controller 110determines that the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 band the distributed antenna system DAS interoperate with each otheraccording to whether or not the identifiers match each other or by theidentifier received from the head-end unit 130.

In another embodiment, the system controller 110 may estimate anddetermine whether the RSD identification information and the DASidentification information interoperate with each other based on the RSDidentification information and the DAS identification information evenif there is no identifier in the RSD identification information and theDAS identification information.

In more detail, among values included in the RSD identificationinformation and the DAS identification information, when at least someof the respective radio access technologies, operating parametersassociated with the radio access technologies, and the geographiclocations of the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-endunit 130 match or correspond to each other, it can be assumed that theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributedantenna system DAS interoperate with each other.

When the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b operate assignal sources of the distributed antenna system DAS, the distributedantenna system DAS conforms to the radio access technology of theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b, and the operatingparameters of a frequency band associated with the radio accesstechnology.

Furthermore, due to the nature of an in-building wireless communicationsystem, as a geographic location of the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b, that is, their own location (or the location ofantennas connected thereto), expands to the location (or the location ofantennas connected to the remote units) of remote units of thedistributed antenna system DAS. Thus, an indication of the geographiclocation that each of the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and120 b transmits to the system controller 110 substantially coincideswith an indication of a geographic location that the distributed antennasystem DAS transmits to the system controller 110.

Accordingly, when values included in the RSD identification informationand values included in the DAS identification information are equal toeach other by a certain number, it may be estimated that the pluralityof radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperate with each other.

In operation S404, the system controller 110 respectively allocates theshared radio resources to the plurality of radio service devices 120 aand 120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS based on a result ofdetermining whether the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120b interoperate with the distributed antenna system DAS.

For example, after recognizing the spectrum usage amount of priorityusers in a specific geographical location and/or specific time set inwhich the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and thehead-end unit 130 that interoperate with each other are located, thesystem controller 110 may allocate available shared radio resources inconsideration of respective geographical locations, operating states,frequency information, etc. of the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS.

Meanwhile, depending on an embodiment, the system controller 110 mayallocate radio resources such that the shared radio resources allocatedto the distributed antenna system DAS include the shared radio resourcesrespectively allocated to the plurality of radio service devices 120 aand 120 b. This is because the distributed antenna system DAScombines/distributes the radio resources of the plurality of radioservice devices 120 a and 120 b.

In operation S405 a, the system controller 110 transmits allocationinformation indicating a result of the allocation to the plurality ofradio service devices 120 a and 120 b. In operation S405 b, the systemcontroller 110 transmits allocation the allocation information to thehead-end unit 130.

In operation S406 a, the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and120 b operate according to the received allocation information. Inoperation S406 b, the head-end unit 130 operates according to thereceived allocation information.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, the head-end unit 130 transmits theallocation information received from the system controller 110 to otherelements of the distributed antenna system DAS such as the remote unit140 and the expansion unit 150 so that the distributed antenna systemDAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

According to particular aspects, the identification informationdescribed above, which is a part of a registration process between thesystem controller 110 and the plurality of radio service devices 120 aand 120 b and the head-end unit 130, may be obtained through at leastone of periodic status updates of the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit 130 or resource requests from theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit130. In some cases, the periodic status updates may include radioenvironment measurements performed by at least one of the plurality ofradio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit 130 a. Thisis also substantially the same in a method of allocating shared radioresources illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, 10, and 11 later below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIGS. 6 to 8 areflowcharts for illustrating a method of operating the spectrum sharingsystem shown in FIG. 5.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 5 illustratesan embodiment in which the head-end unit 130 of the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperates with the plurality of radio service devices 120a and 120 b. In this embodiment, the system controller 110 and theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the plurality ofradio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the head-end unit 130 may berespectively and communicatively connected to each other throughrespective interfaces to transmit and receive information necessary forspectrum sharing access.

In the description of FIGS. 5 and 8, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2C denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for thedistributed antenna system DAS including the system controller 110, theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b, and the head-endunit 130 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 5, and 6, in operation S601, thehead-end unit 130 generates information (hereinafter referred to as DASinformation) of the distributed antenna system DAS and transmits the DASinformation to at least one of the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b.

The DAS information, which is information related to a radio service ofthe plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b provided toend-user devices through the distributed antenna system DAS, mayinclude, for example, radio access technologies respectively providedfrom the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b to the nodeunits (the head-end unit 130, the remote unit 140, and the expansionunit 150) of the distributed antenna system DAS, operating parametersassociated with the radio access technologies, a geographic location, adevice identifier, and the like.

Next, in operation S602, any one of the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b generates interoperating information(hereinafter referred to as RSD-DAS interoperating information) of theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributedantenna system DAS based on the DAS information received from thehead-end unit 130. In this case, the one of the plurality of radioservice devices 120 a and 120 b operates as a domain proxy.

The RSD-DAS interoperating information, which is information directly orindirectly indicating whether or not the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b interoperate with the distributed antenna systemDAS, may include an indication of an interoperating state, an indicationof radio access technologies provided by the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b through the distributed antenna system DAS,operating parameters associated with the radio access technologies, ageographic location, a device identifier, and the like.

Since the DAS information includes all information such as the radioaccess technologies provided by the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b, only one of the plurality of radio service devices 120a and 120 b may generate the RSD-DAS interoperating information based onthe DAS information.

Next, in operation S603, the one of the radio service devices transmitsthe generated RSD-DAS interoperating information to the systemcontroller 110, in operation S604, transmits its own information(hereinafter referred to as RSD information) to the system controller110. In operation S605, the one of the radio service devices transmitsthe DAS information received from the head-end unit 130 to the systemcontroller 110.

That is, the one of the radio service devices transmits, as a domainproxy, other interoperating elements, that is, information about each ofthe other radio service device and the distributed antenna system DAS,to the system controller 110 together with the RSD-DAS interoperatinginformation indicating whether or not the interoperating is performed.

In operation S606, the system controller 110 allocates the shared radioresources to the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b andthe distributed antenna system DAS in consideration of theinteroperating state based on the received RSD-DAS interoperatinginformation.

In operation S607, the system controller 110 transmits allocationinformation indicating a result of the allocation to the one of theradio service devices. In operation S608, the one of the radio servicedevices operates according to the received allocation information.

In operation S609, the one of the radio service devices transmits theallocation information to the head-end unit 130. In operation S610, thehead-end unit 130 operates according to the received allocationinformation.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 6, the one of the radio servicedevices transmits the allocation information to an other radio servicedevice in addition to the head-end unit 130 so that the other radioservice device also operates according to the received allocationinformation.

Furthermore, the head-end unit 130 transmits the allocation informationreceived from the other radio service to other elements of thedistributed antenna system DAS such as the remote unit 140 and theexpansion unit 150 so that the distributed antenna system DAS mayoperate using the allocated radio resources.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 5, and 7, in operations S701 a andS701 b, the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 brespectively generates interoperating information (hereinafter referredto as RSD #1-DAS interoperating information and RSD #2-DASinteroperating information) with the distributed antenna system DASbased on information (hereinafter referred to as DAS information) of thedistributed antenna system DAS received from the head-end unit 130.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 7, as described above withreference to operation S601 in FIG. 6, the head-end unit 130 maytransmit the DAS information (e.g., a location of the head-end unit 130,a location of remote units connected to the head-end unit 130, an outputpower, a supporting frequency band, etc.) to the plurality of radioservice devices 120 a and 120 b through a network. In anotherembodiment, the head-end unit 130 may transmit the DAS information tothe plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b in an off-linemanner.

The RSD #1-DAS interoperating information, which is information directlyor indirectly indicating whether or not the radio service device 120 ainteroperates with the distributed antenna system DAS, may include anindication of an interoperating state, an indication of radio accesstechnology provided by the radio service device 120 a through thedistributed antenna system DAS, operating parameters associated with theradio access technology, a geographic location, a device identifier, andthe like.

Similarly, the RSD #2-DAS interoperating information, which isinformation directly or indirectly indicating whether or not the radioservice device 120 b interoperates with the distributed antenna systemDAS, may also include an indication of an interoperating state, anindication of radio access technology provided by the radio servicedevice 120 b through the distributed antenna system DAS, operatingparameters associated with the radio access technology, a geographiclocation, a device identifier, and the like.

In operation S702, the radio service device 120 a transmits the RSD#1-DAS interoperating information to the system controller 110. Inoperation S703, the radio service device 120 b transmits the RSD #2-DASinteroperating information to the system controller 110.

That is, each of the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 btransmits information related to interoperation with the distributedantenna system DAS to the system controller 110.

In operation S704, the system controller 110 allocates shared radioresources to each of the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS based on the received RSD#1-DAS interoperating information and the RSD #2-DAS interoperatinginformation.

In operation S705, the system controller 110 transmits RSD #1-DASallocation information indicating a result of allocating radio resourcesto the radio service device 120 a in consideration of interoperating theradio service device 120 a and the distributed antenna system DAS. Inoperation S706, the system controller 110 transmits RSD #2-DASallocation information indicating a result of allocating radio resourcesto the radio service device 120 b in consideration of interoperating theradio service device 120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS.

In operation S707 a and S707 b, the radio service devices 120 a and 120b respectively operate according to the pieces of received allocationinformation. In operations S708 and S709, the radio service devices 120a and 120 b respectively transmit the pieces of allocation informationreceived from the system controller 110 to the head-end unit 130. Inoperation S710, the head-end unit 130 operates according to the receivedpieces of allocation information.

Meanwhile, the head-end unit 130 transmits the pieces of allocationinformation received from the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b toother elements of the distributed antenna system DAS such as the remoteunit 140 and the expansion unit 150 so that the distributed antennasystem DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 5, and 8, in operations S801 a andS801 b, the head-end unit 130 transmits information of the distributedantenna system DAS (hereinafter referred to as DAS information) to eachof the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b.

In operations S802 a and S802 b, the plurality of radio service devices120 a and 120 b respectively aggregate their own information and the DASinformation to generate virtualized radio service device information(hereinafter referred to as VRSD #1 information and VRSD #2information).

The VRSD #1 information may be information that identifies thedistributed antenna system DAS as a device integrated with the radioservice device 120 a or as an extension device of the radio servicedevice 120 a. For example, the VRSD #1 information may include anindication of radio access technology provided by the radio servicedevice 120 a through the distributed antenna system DAS, operatingparameters associated with the radio access technology, a geographiclocation, a device identifier, and the like.

Similarly, the VRSD #2 information may be information that identifiesthe distributed antenna system DAS as a device integrated with the radioservice device 120 b or as an extension device of the radio servicedevice 120 b. For example, the VRSD #2 information may include anindication of radio access technology provided by the radio servicedevice 120 b through the distributed antenna system DAS, operatingparameters associated with the radio access technology, a geographiclocation, a device identifier, and the like.

Thereafter, in operation S803, the radio service device 120 a transmitsthe VRSD #1 information to the system controller 110. In operation S804,the radio service device 120 b transmits the VRSD #2 information to thesystem controller 110.

That is, FIG. 8 discloses an embodiment where the radio service devices120 a and 120 b respectively transmit the VRSD #1 information and theVRSD #2 information to the system controller 110 such that the systemcontroller 110 recognizes the distributed antenna system DASrespectively connected to the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b asan integrated (or extended) device.

In operations S805, the system controller 110, based on the receivedVRSD #1 information and the VRSD #2 information, allocates integrallyshared radio resources to the radio service device 120 a and thedistributed antenna system DAS (i.e., one virtualized radio servicedevice) and the radio service device 120 b and the distributed antennasystem DAS (i.e., the other virtualized radio service device).

In operation S806, the system controller 110 transmits the RSD #1-DASallocation information indicating a result of allocating radio resourcesto the one virtualized radio service device to the radio service devices120 a. In operation S807, the system controller 110 transmits the RSD#2-DAS allocation information indicating a result of allocating radioresources to the other virtualized radio service device to the radioservice devices 120 b.

In operation S808 a, the radio service device 120 a determinesrespective operations of the radio service device 120 a and thedistributed antenna system DAS based on the received RSD #1-DASallocation information. In operation S808 b, the radio service device120 b determines respective operations of the radio service device 120 band the distributed antenna system DAS based on the received RSD #2-DASallocation information.

In operation S809 a, the radio service device 120 a operates accordingto a result of the determination. In operation S809 b, the radio servicedevice 120 b operates according to a result of the determination.

In operations S810 and S811, each of the radio service devices 120 a and120 b transmits information (hereinafter referred to as DAS operationinformation) related to the operation determined for the distributedantenna system DAS to the head-end unit 130. In operation S812, thehead-end unit 130 operates according to the DAS operation information.

Meanwhile, the head-end unit 130 transmits DAS operation information toother elements of the distributed antenna system DAS such as the remoteunit 140 and the expansion unit 150 so that the distributed antennasystem DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a spectrum sharing system according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIGS. 10 and 11 areflowcharts for illustrating a method of operating the spectrum sharingsystem shown in FIG. 9.

In more detail, the spectrum sharing system shown in FIG. 9 illustratesan embodiment in which the head-end unit 130 of the distributed antennasystem DAS interoperates with the plurality of radio service devices 120a and 120 b. In this embodiment, the system controller 110 and thehead-end unit 130 and the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and120 b and the head-end unit 130 may be respectively and communicativelyconnected to each other through respective interfaces to transmit andreceive information necessary for spectrum sharing access.

In the description of FIGS. 9 to 11, the same or corresponding referencenumerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 2C denote the same or correspondingelements, and therefore, repeated descriptions thereof will not be givenherein. In the spectrum sharing system according to the presentembodiment, allocation operations of shared radio resources for thedistributed antenna system DAS including the system controller 110, theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b, and the head-endunit 130 will be mainly described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 9, and 10, in operation S1001, theradio service devices 120 a and 120 b respectively generate their owninformation (hereinafter referred to as RSD information) and transmitthe RSD information to a plurality of head-end units 130.

The RSD information may include, for example, an indication of radioaccess technologies respectively provided by the radio service devices120 a and 120 b, operating parameters associated with the radio accesstechnologies, a geographic location, a device identifier, and the like.

Next, in operation S1002, the head-end unit 130 generates interoperatinginformation (hereinafter referred to as RSD-DAS interoperatinginformation) of the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 band the distributed antenna system DAS based on the RSD informationrespectively received from the plurality of radio service devices 120 aand 120 b.

Thereafter, in operation S1003, the head-end unit 130 transmits theRSD-DAS interoperating information to the system controller 110. Inoperation S1004, the head-end unit 130 transmits its own information(hereinafter referred to as DAS information) to the system controller110. In operation S1005, the head-end unit 130 transmits the RSDinformation received from the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b tothe system controller 110.

That is, the head-end unit 130 transmits, as a domain proxy, otherinteroperating elements, that is, respective information about the radioservice devices 120 a and 120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS,to the system controller 110 together with the RSD-DAS interoperatinginformation indicating whether or not the interoperating is performed.

In operation S1006, the system controller 110 allocates the shared radioresources to the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b andthe distributed antenna system DAS in consideration of theinteroperating state based on the received RSD-DAS interoperatinginformation.

In operation S1007, the system controller 110 transmits allocationinformation indicating a result of the allocation to the head-end unit130, and in operation S1008, the head-end unit 130 operates according tothe received allocation information.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 9, the head-end unit 130 transmitsthe allocation information received from the system controller 110 toother elements of the distributed antenna system DAS such as the remoteunit 140 and the expansion unit 150 so that the distributed antennasystem DAS may operate using the allocated radio resources.

In operation S1009, the head-end unit 130 transmits the allocationinformation to the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b, and inoperation S1010, each of the radio service devices 120 a and 120 boperates according to the received allocation information.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 2C, 9, and 11, in operation S1101, theradio service device 120 a transmits its own information (hereinafterreferred to as RSD #1 information) to the head-end unit 130, inoperation S1102, the radio service device 120 b transmits its owninformation (hereinafter referred to as RSD #2 information) to thehead-end unit 130, and in operation S1103, the head-end unit 130combines respective information of the distributed antenna system DASand the radio service devices 120 a and 120 b to generate virtualizedradio service device information (hereinafter referred to as VRSD #1information and VRSD #2 information).

The VRSD #1 information may be information that identifies thedistributed antenna system DAS as a device integrated with the radioservice device 120 a or as an extension device of the radio servicedevice 120 a. For example, the VRSD #1 information may include radioaccess technology provided by the radio service device 120 a through thedistributed antenna system DAS, operating parameters associated with theradio access technology, a geographic location, a device identifier, andthe like.

Similarly, the VRSD #2 information may be information that identifiesthe distributed antenna system DAS as a device integrated with the radioservice device 120 b or as an extension device of the radio servicedevice 120 b. For example, the VRSD #2 information may include radioaccess technology provided by the radio service device 120 b through thedistributed antenna system DAS, operating parameters associated with theradio access technology, a geographic location, a device identifier, andthe like.

In operation S1104, the head-end unit 130 transmits the VRSD #1information and the VRSD #2 information to the system controller 110.

That is The head-end unit 130 transmits the VRSD #1 information and theVRSD #2 information to the system controller 110 such that thedistributed antenna system DAS operates integrally with each of theplurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120 b and the systemcontroller 110 recognizes the distributed antenna system DAS as a deviceintegrated (or extended) with each of the plurality of radio servicedevices 120 a and 120 b.

In operations S1105, the system controller 110, based on the receivedVRSD #1 information and the VRSD #2 information, allocates shared radioresources to the radio service device 120 a and the distributed antennasystem DAS (i.e., one virtualized radio service device) and the radioservice device 120 b and the distributed antenna system DAS (i.e., theother virtualized radio service device), respectively.

In operation S1106, the system controller 110 transmits the RSD #1-DASallocation information indicating a result of allocating radio resourcesto the one virtualized radio service device and the RSD #2-DASallocation information indicating a result of allocating radio resourcesto the other virtualized radio service device to the head-end unit 130,respectively.

In operation S1107, the head-end unit 130 determines respectiveoperations of the radio service device 120 a, the radio service device120 b, and the distributed antenna system DAS based on the received RSD#1-DAS allocation information and the RSD #2-DAS allocation information.

In operation S1108, the head-end unit 130 operates according to a resultof the determination of the distributed antenna system DAS.

Meanwhile, the head-end unit 130 transmits pieces of Information relatedto the determined result to other elements of the distributed antennasystem DAS such as the remote unit 140 and the expansion unit 150 sothat the distributed antenna system DAS may operate using the allocatedradio resources.

In operation S1109, the head-end unit 130 transmits information (RSD #1operation information) related to the operation determined for the radioservice device 120 a to the radio service device 120 a, and in operationS1110, the head-end unit 130 transmits information (RSD #2 operationinformation) related to the operation determined for the radio servicedevice 120 b to the radio service device 120 b. Accordingly, inoperations S1111 a and S1111 b, each of the radio service devices 120 band 120 b operates according to the received operation information.

FIGS. 3 to 11 describe the embodiment in which the head-end unit 130interoperates with the plurality of radio service devices 120 a and 120b above. However, even in an embodiment in which the remote unit 130interoperates with at least one radio service device, the allocationoperation of the shared radio resources as shown in FIGS. 3 to 11 willbe possible.

Further, FIGS. 4, 6 to 8, 10, and 11 and the methods described withreference thereto include one or more operations and/or actions forachieving the methods. The operations and/or actions for achieving themethods may be interchanged with one another without departing from thescope of the claims. In other words, the order and/or use of specificoperations and/or actions may be modified without departing from thescope of the claims, unless a certain order for the operations and/oractions is specified.

An example of a spectrum sharing system of the present disclosure is aCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) system specified by the UnitedStates Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For convenience ofdescription, technologies proposed in the present disclosure havesometimes been described on the premise of the CBRS system. However,such a description does not limit the technologies proposed in thepresent disclosure. For example, the present disclosure is applicable tovarious spectrum sharing systems other than the CBRS system.

In addition, various operations of the methods described above may beperformed by any suitable means capable of performing correspondingfunctions. The means includes, but is not limited to, various hardwareand/or software components and/or modules such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a processor. In general, whenthere are operations corresponding to the drawings, these operations mayhave a corresponding counterpart and functional components having thesame number as the number of the counterpart.

The various illustrative logic blocks, components, or circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed by a general-purpose processor designed to perform thefunctions disclosed herein, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device(PLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but may alternatively be any commerciallyavailable processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Theprocessor may also be implemented in a combination of computing devices,for example, a combination of the DSP and the microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in connectionwith a DSP core, or any other configuration.

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, a spectrumsharing system may allocate and operate shared radio resourcesconsidering interoperating of the distributed antenna system DAS,thereby preventing unexpected interference from occurring at a specificarea and/or at a specific time due to interoperating of the distributedantenna system DAS, and efficiently utilizing the shared radioresources.

Effects obtainable by the method of operating the spectrum sharingsystem according to the inventive concept are not limited to the effectsdescribed above, but other effects not described herein may be clearlyunderstood by those of ordinary skilled in the art from the abovedescriptions.

Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosure.

In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms andshould not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forthherein.

While the disclosure has been particularly shown and described withreference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variouschanges in form and details may be made therein without departing fromthe scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of allocating shared radio resources ina spectrum shared system (SSS), the method comprising: obtaining, by asystem controller of the SSS, identification information from at leastone radio service device of the SSS and a node unit of a distributedantenna system (DAS); determining, by the system controller of the SSS,whether the at least one radio service device interoperates with the DASbased on the identification information; and allocating, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the shared radio resources to the at least oneradio service device and the DAS, respectively, based on a result of thedetermining of interoperating.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theidentification information comprises an identifier indicating whetherthe at least one radio service device interoperates with the DAS.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining of interoperating comprisesdetermining whether the at least one radio service device interoperateswith the DAS according to whether respective identifiers of the at leastone radio service device and the node unit match or correspond to eachother.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification informationwith respect to each of the at least one radio service device and thenode unit comprises at least two of an indication of radio accesstechnology (RAT), operation parameters associated with the RAT, and ageographic location.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determiningof interoperating comprises determining, by the system controller of theSSS, whether the at least one radio service device interoperates withthe DAS according to whether at least some of the indication of the RAT,the operation parameters associated with the RAT, and the geographiclocation match or correspond to each other.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the obtaining of the identification information comprisesobtaining, by the system controller of the SSS, the identificationinformation as a portion of a registration process of the at least oneradio service device and the node unit.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the obtaining of the identification information comprisesobtaining, by the system controller of the SSS, the identificationinformation through at least one of a resource request from the at leastone radio service device and the node unit or a periodic status updateof the at least one radio service device and the node unit.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the allocating of the shared radio resourcescomprises allocating, by the system controller of the SSS, the sharedradio resources such that the shared radio resources allocated to theDAS comprise the shared radio resources allocated to the at least oneradio service device.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the node unit isa head-end unit communicatively connected to the at least one radioservice device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the node unit is aremote unit communicatively connected to the at least one radio servicedevice.
 11. A method of allocating shared radio resources in a spectrumshared system (SSS), the method comprising: obtaining, by a systemcontroller of the SSS, interoperating information from any one of atleast one radio service device of the SSS and a node unit of adistributed antenna system (DAS); and allocating, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the shared radio resources to the at least oneradio service device and the DAS, respectively, based on theinteroperating information.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theobtaining of the interoperating information comprises: obtaining, by thesystem controller of the SSS, the interoperating information from the atleast one radio service device; and the interoperating informationcomprises information about at least two of an interoperating state ofthe at least one radio service device and the DAS, an indication ofradio access technology (RAT) provided by the at least one radio servicedevice through the DAS, operation parameters associated with the RAT,and a geographic location.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theallocating of the shared radio resources comprises allocating, by thesystem controller of the SSS, the shared radio resources to the at leastone radio service device and the DAS, respectively, based on theinteroperating information, and further comprising: controlling, by theat least one radio service device, use of the shared radio resources ofthe DAS by transmitting a result of the allocating to the DAS to thenode unit, after the allocating of the shared radio resources.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the obtaining of the interoperatinginformation comprises obtaining, by the system controller of the SSS,the interoperating information from the node unit, wherein theinteroperating information comprises information about at least two ofan interoperating state of the at least one radio service device and theDAS, an indication of an RAT of the at least one radio service devicesupported by the node unit, operation parameters associated with theRAT, and a geographic location.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein theallocating of the shared radio resources comprises allocating, by thesystem controller of the SSS, the shared radio resources to the at leastone radio service device and the DAS, respectively, based on theinteroperating information, and further comprising: controlling, by thenode unit, use of the shared radio resources of the at least one radioservice device by transmitting a result of the allocating to the atleast one radio service device to the at least one radio service device,after the allocating of the shared radio resources.
 16. A method ofallocating shared radio resources in a spectrum shared system (SSS), themethod comprising: obtaining, by a system controller of the SSS,virtualized radio service device information from any one of at leastone radio service device of the SSS and a node unit of a distributedantenna system (DAS); and allocating, by the system controller of theSSS, the shared radio resources to the at least one radio service deviceand the DAS, integrally, based on the virtualized radio service deviceinformation.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtualized radioservice device information comprises information about at least two ofan indication of radio access technology (RAT) that is integrallysupported by the at least one radio service device and the DAS,operation parameters associated with the RAT, and a geographic location.18. The method of claim 16, wherein the obtaining of the virtualizedradio service device information comprises obtaining, by the systemcontroller of the SSS, the virtualized radio service device informationfrom the at least one radio service device, and further comprising:determining, by the at least one radio service device, an operation ofeach of the at least one radio service device and the DAS based on aresult of the allocating, after the allocating of the shared radioresources; and controlling, by the at least one radio service device,use of the shared radio resources of each of the at least one radioservice device and the DAS according to the determined operation. 19.The method of claim 16, wherein the obtaining of the virtualized radioservice device information comprises obtaining, by the system controllerof the SSS, the virtualized radio service device information from thenode unit, and further comprising: determining, by the node unit, anoperation of each of the at least one radio service device and the DASbased on a result of the allocating after the allocating of the sharedradio resources; and controlling, by the node unit, use of the sharedradio resources of each of the at least one radio service device and theDAS according to the determined operation.